A Father's Hands

I recently took this photo of a very unsuspecting gentleman as he sat quietly in the chair next to me. While we didn't speak very much, his hands said a lot. These are the hands of a hard-working man who gets up everyday to go to work in order to provide for his family.

As I looked at his hands through the lens of my camera, I was struck by the the thought of how Jesus used His hands in so many ways to provide for others...

-to hold children

-to touch people as he healed them

-to bless people

-to hold Himself up as He hung on the cross

Yet, as I look at this photo, I'm reminded that the hands of Jesus also protects...

John 10:27-29 (New International Version)

²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
It sure is good to know that as a followers of Jesus Christ, I am double-covered!
And yet, some times, I don't listen to His voice. Far too often I listen to my own voice before listening to His. Thus the inner battle of every person who seeks to follow Jesus Christ. John 3:30 reminds us that, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
We need to be filtering our lives through the lenses of what God would have us do in EVERY area of our lives (marriage, work, parenting, church, leading others, etc.) And thus, hear His voice...not our own. And when we do, we can find rest in His hands.